Posts Tagged ‘Django Unchained’

Anyone who has ever seen a Quentin Tarantino movie expects lots of blood. That’s a given. With his latest movie, Django Unchained he doesn’t let the audience down. There is a lot of blood and a lot of shooting/killing.

After watching an early morning showing of the movie today, I’d be interested in knowing how much money was spent on marketing. I saw all of the interviews from Jamie Foxx and Kerry Washington. I watched the TV-One interview with Quentin and Jamie and was really stoked to see this movie. Judging by the packed theatre at 9:45 a.m. others were as stoked as I was.

I knew I shouldn’t have too many expectations, but sadly, I did. After all, they were hailing this movie as an untold portion of slavery history with a spaghetti western theme. The movie should have been called a comedy. Quentin, as usual, was all over the place. The movie is two hours and forty-five minutes long. (2:45) It could have been 1:30 as there were several unneeded scenes that Quentin could have left out.

I adore Jamie Foxx. I enjoy his acting, comedy and singing but as a slave it didn’t work for me. I tend to be a little critical but the movie is set in 1858 before the civil war which began April 12, 1861. Django’s dialogue as a slave was much too precise to be believable. Christoph Waltz, who plays a Bounty Hunter (Dr. King Schultz) purchases Django rather unscrupulously, and turns him into a Bounty Hunter. The audience is left clueless as to why Django is chosen, other than the fact that he was a slave on the plantation of the three men Dr. Schultz is hunting. The killing starts almost immediately after the opening credits.

Django, who as a slave has never handled a gun or a shotgun turns into a marksman. Django who in 1859 doesn’t read or write learns to read and for me, he does it too well. Again, it wasn’t believable. Once the three hunted men are taken care of Schultz/Django decide to stay together and become Bounty Hunters in the south. Django’s goal is to find his wife Broomhilda (Kerry Washington) who he was separated from years earlier in a slave sale.

We see Django transformed into a cowboy, complete with a horse, a shotgun and John Lennon sunglasses. Sunglasses in 1858-1859? Really? Sam Foster of Foster Grant fame produced the first sunglasses in 1929. I know they did it to make Jamie Foxx look like a cool cowboy but my critical eye caught it.

Django Unchained was heavily marketed as an untold part of slavery when in actuality it isn’t. It’s a comical western set in the mid 1800’s that is so over the top Quentin Tarantino. For a moment during the middle of the film I almost fell asleep. Sam Jackson, Kerry Washington and Leonardo DiCaprio are not seen until the third act.

Don’t take it too seriously folks. It’s definitely not Roots. It could have been a spectacular story but instead, its Quentin Tarantino unplugged.

Laughing at the Klan should have been my first hint I was heading for a let-down. Upon leaving the theatre a guy in front of me told his friend, “It’s the best movie I’ve seen in five years.” I can’t wait to see the final numbers. If you’re a Tarantino fan you’ll enjoy it. It has its moments but overall I’d give it a 7 out of 10 rating.